After the Graduation
by Yugi16dm
Summary: It's the Seniors' Party; their last chance for everyone to enjoy themselves with their fellow peers, to make long-lasting friendships, to confront secret loves, and to find the right words to say before they say goodbye. SxJ Shounen-Ai Please R&R!


Please review my story. That's all I ask. And enjoy yourself during. X3

Notes: I prefer to call Téa by her Japanese name because I think its better. But they are not in Japan for this fic (though you will see some occasional Jap words here and there). Also, you might notice I don't go into much detail about the actual graduation ceremony... well that's because this fic isn't about that, it's about what happens after it. ^-^ Please remember this is a ONESHOT.

^-^ I hope you like it. I got the idea for this story from my own all-nighter party. Some of the things they're going to experience at this party are things I experienced at my own. :) so not only do you get to read about Joey and Kaiba's all-nighter, you get a glimpse into my own! Sweet, huh?

Well, please read, enjoy, and review! Thank you!

**After the Graduation**

The cheering was deafening as they were in line heading away from the site of the celebration. After they made it past the gates that separated the football field from the school, each graduate headed toward their respective families.

"Congrats, oniisan!" Serenity said to her older brother as he walked up to her. He received a tight hug.

"Thanks Serenity. Now we just wait two more years for your graduation!"

They smiled. "I wanna take some pictures of you. Is that okay? Will we have time?" She asked as she checked her watch.

"I think so. We still have half an hour. Go ahead, but I want some pictures _with_ you."

"Okay. Stand over next to the garden." She pointed just ahead of themselves.

The garden consisted of several types of individual flowers, mostly yellow or white. They were surrounding the sign that said 'Domino High School' in large letters.

Joey walked towards it and knelt on the grass in front of it so that the words could still be seen. His golden toga billowed as he lowered himself, the white accessories that accompanied the toga, still draping his shoulders.

The sun shone brightly over him, giving the impression that he was glowing as his golden locks lit up, making the scene even more breathtaking.

"Perfect!" She shouted as she took the picture. She turned to her friend and asked that she would take the picture of the two of them.

She walked next to Joey and said "That was a very pretty picture of you, oniisan. I bet it'll look professional." She positioned herself to his left, kneeling alongside him and smiled brightly. Her addition to the scene only made the moment more special. Her red hair contrasted his golden locks perfectly. After taking the picture, they went to find Yugi and everyone else so that they could take a group picture before they left on the bus for the night.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Mazaki Anzu!... Mazaki Anzu!"

"She aint here! She aint comin'!" Joey yelled out.

"Alright then, if that's true, we can leave now. Everyone line up so we can all get on the buses organized. There will be 30 students on each bus." The chaperone said as she counted 30 heads for Bus One.

Fortunately, the gang wasn't split up. Unfortunately, Kaiba was included on their bus as well. Everyone wondered why he even bothered to come since he's so antisocial. Well, at least Joey wondered that. They were allowed to sit with whoever they wished, wherever on the bus. They sat accordingly: Yugi and Joey in one seat and Yami was sprawled in one seat by himself behind them. Marik and Malik were across from Yugi and Joey, Bakura and Ryou were across from Yami, Tristan and Duke behind them, and Kaiba was about four seats behind Yami. The gang took up the first three rows of seats in the bus. After all of the graduates were on their appointed buses, they left the school and got onto the highway to go to their destination.

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at a sports lounge not too far from their next destination, where they were to eat. When everyone filed out of the buses and into the building, each found a table—all but one.

Kaiba was standing around, looking from table to table, trying to decide whose company he would hate less.

"Kaiba! Hey! Kaiba!" He heard Yami yell from across the room, waving his arms so that he would spot him. "Hey! Come sit with us! There's room for one more!"

Sighing in annoyance, he walked in his direction and sat himself in the empty chair.

He received several stares from the group.

"Hey, Kaiba, you can stay with us for the rest of the night. I mean, if you want to, that is." Yugi offered.

He took a moment and then said, "I'll think about it."

Joey got up soon after he spoke to get in the growing line for the food, muttering something about wishing he could go home.

"What's wrong with him?" Tristan asked, pointing at the blond.

"Beats me. I thought he'd be loud and annoying." Bakura said.

"He's like that all the time." Malik said. "But he's different right now. He's acting like he's mad."

"What would he be mad about?" asked Duke. "Nothing's happened that would make him mad."

"Not until I sat here, anyway." Kaiba suggested.

They all turned to him. Yami spoke first. "I don't think so, Kaiba. I mean, it's true, you two don't get long very well—"

"They don't get along at all!" interrupted Tristan. Yami glared at him.

"...okay, they don't get along at all, but I don't think he would ruin this trip for himself by being mad that you joined us." He continued.

Yugi nodded appreciatively. "Yeah, in any case, he would just ignore you." He said innocently. Kaiba sent him a glare, but the boy never saw it.

As soon as they saw the line had diminished some, they got up and into the line. Meanwhile, Joey had gotten his food and was now sitting by himself at the table eating.

It didn't take very long for Kaiba to get his food. Many of the people let him go ahead of them. They were too afraid of him to refuse. So while the rest of the gang was still in line waiting to get their food, Kaiba and Joey were left sitting alone at the table with their food.

"...uhh... Joey?" Kaiba hesitated. Using his name rather than 'Mutt' was hard.

The blond looked at him with a piece of chicken hanging out of his mouth. "hm?"

The site made the brunet want to bust out laughing but he restrained himself. "Uhh, well, everyone seems to think you're mad for some reason and I thought I'd ask if that was true."

Joey chewed quickly as one of his eyebrows arched. "Mad? 'bout what?"

Kaiba shrugged. "I don't know. Just everyone was talking about how you were acting like you were mad. But I don't know. I thought...it might be because I sat here."

Joey sighed and got up from his seat. "Follow me." He said as he headed in the direction of the men's bathroom.

Kaiba didn't have to be told twice as he quickly got up and followed him. When they went inside, the blond turned around to face the brunet.

"Look, I aint mad, I aint upset about anythin', and I aint angry that ya sat with us. Actually, it's more like I'm a slow adjuster."

Kaiba looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I aint used to havin' ya around and hangin' out with us. I aint saying' I'm mad about it, cuz I aint. It's just hard for me to get used to it. I mean I know this is the only time that ya actually did hang around us and not throw insults our way, but I started thinkin' about if ya were to stay in our group like Yug suggested. It was hard for me to imagine ya there, that's all."

Kaiba thought and said. "Well, if you're not comfortable having me around, I can just... leave, you know." He looked down and put his hands in his pockets. "I know I always seem like a jerk, and I know I'm an ass sometimes—"

"All the time is more like it." Joey offered.

"...I know I'm an ass _all_ the time but," Kaiba paused, "I really just want to be friends."

The blond's eyes widened in shock. After it sunk in, he held out his hand with a smile. The brunet looked at the hand and then to his blond companion's face. Hesitating a bit, he took the other's hand and gave him a smile.

"Friends." Joey declared.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

They were all seated in the bus again, heading to their next destination. Kaiba had taken the liberty of sitting with his new friends. He was actually enjoying himself now. In fact, in light of recent events, he sat with Joey in a seat while Yugi sat with Yami. He'd found so much out about the blond. He was becoming more and more interesting. They even talked about the 'mutt and master' thing that had arisen from their years of fighting, joking about how stupid it was.

Not realizing until they'd come to a complete stop that they'd arrived, the gang got up and out of the bus seats and filed off the bus. They were at what was known as the Domino Aquatic Center.

"Are you serious?" Bakura shouted. "I know they said to bring swim trunks and a towel, but I would never have guessed!"

Marik rolled is eyes.

"This is going to be an interesting night." Kaiba said as he looked at his watch. "We have 5 hours here."

Everyone looked at him with widened eyes. "Five hours? Ya know how much I could do in that time?" Tristan shouted in disbelief.

Joey ran inside, eager to change into his trunks and take a dive in the pool. He was followed by the other graduates who were impatient when it came to swimming.

"Joey, wait up!" Kaiba yelled as he ran after him. They entered the building and were assaulted by the smell of chlorine.

Forty minutes later, they were all in the pool. The Yamis were playing basketball in the pool, Duke and Tristan were in line for the water slide, Yugi, Ryou and Malik were racing from one end of the pool to the other in the water, and Joey and Kaiba were relaxing together in the whirlpool, better known as the hot tub. They were also drinking a juice box each.

"It's nice to just relax, aint it?" Joey asked softly.

"Hmm..." sighed Kaiba as he was enjoying the warmth, arms spread resting along the edge at shoulder height, head slung back, eyes closed, covered in water up to about halfway up his toned chest.

Joey looked at him and suddenly felt he needed to get out before any 'problems' _arose_.

The truth is he always knew he didn't totally hate the other guy...actually it was more along the blurred line of its sister emotion. He just today suspected himself of having a kind of _liking_ toward the brunet. He wasn't completely sure, or completely willing for that matter, to accept any kind of emotion that might suggest he was homosexual. Not that it would be bad since he was the only one in their gang who wasn't with anyone and his friends suspected _things_. But he couldn't deny himself now as he simply blinked at Kaiba as his 'problems' were the least of his worries. He had just now noticed how much closer to him Kaiba suddenly was.

"...umm... w-what have ya been workin' on lately? Plannin' any new tournaments?" He tried to get his mind off it. He took a sip of his juice.

"Not really. Just managing the Amusement Parks is enough for me at the moment. What about you? Got any plans after this?" Kaiba asked, still basking in the warmth of the water.

Joey looked at the flowing water as it swirled around them. "I'm goin to college at...well ya wouldn't believe me if I told ya."

"Try me." Kaiba said, now paying attention.

"Well..." Joey paused, "...I got into several different universities." Kaiba raised an eyebrow.

"Why did you suddenly start talking like that?"

Joey paled. "L-Like what?"

"Like you have an education." Kaiba smirked playfully. The blond glared half-heartedly and said,

"For your information, I happen to be well educated; I just don't think that bragging about it is a good way to make friends. You have proven my theory to be accurate."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "Okay then, what university are you going to, Oh Great Philosopher?" He received a splash, not soon after hearing a laugh come from the blond. The brunet chose then to take a sip of his own juice.

Stifling his laughter, he said, "I'm going to MIT." Kaiba gasped and choked on the juice as it slid into his windpipe. Joey began patting his back as he didn't know what else to do.

A moment passed and the coughing finally subsided, allowing for the brunet to regain his composure and inhale some relaxing mouthfuls of air. After he had calmed some, he looked at Joey.

Voice now raspy, Kaiba said, "MIT? How the _hell_ did you get into MIT?"

"Maybe I'm smarter than you give me credit for." Joey said smirking proudly. Kaiba was really interested now. He had learned more about Joey today than he had in the last four years they went to school together.

They got out of the water, deciding they didn't want to look like dried-up prunes, and went into the locker rooms, where they changed. The others remained in the pool.

Joey and Kaiba went to see what else was going on, all the while talking about Joey's upbringing.

"When I was younger—about 12—my dad took me to this place where they do IQ tests on kids my age. There were different kinds of tests. There were written tests, puzzle-game type tests, strategy game tests, you name it. My dad wanted me to take all of them. I never got the results until right before my freshman year in high school though. It's not that they took that long to analyze them; it was my dad wanted me to have a normal childhood."

Kaiba watched him tell the story. The blond furrowed his brows every time he spoke of his father. "So...what were the results? What's your IQ?" He wondered aloud.

Joey looked at him and bit his bottom lip. "Like I said, I'm not one to brag. Let's just leave it at that for now, please?" Kaiba nodded. He still wondered just how smart he was but he had to admit something. The mystery was enough to want to hang around him for the rest of the party.

They discovered there was a station where they could make their own music videos to a song. Joey's eyes lit up as he dragged Kaiba toward it, shouting about how he was going to enjoy himself. There was a closet that held a large selection of costumes. Kaiba simply stood there watching as the blond went through it. Occasionally, he would hold up something to Kaiba's body, previewing it to see if it looked alright.

He was then unceremoniously shoved a costume and told to put it on. Not really up for an argument, he put it on over his clothes. It wasn't until he saw the crown that he realized Joey had handed him a King costume. His left eyebrow rose as he eyed the costume his friend had chosen.

"I thought you hated being called a mutt." Joey shrugged as he put on the dog ears.

"I'm alright with it if it'll put you in the mood to make this video." He was right. Kaiba suddenly couldn't wait to get in front of that camera.

"Remember, there's dancing in music videos." Joey smirked. It was Kaiba's turn to pale. He really didn't want to dance. One, he's not a very good dancer. Two, he's too tall to look good dancing, even if he wasn't that bad. Three, he swore to himself he'd never dance in public. The silence seemed so loud to him.

Joey finally spoke. "Relax, Kaiba, the only people who will see you are me and the person in charge; unless, that is, you want all of our friends to see it too. Either way, you don't need to be nervous."

That almost calmed him down completely. Almost. The music started just as suddenly as he was pushed by Joey onto the area where the camera would record him. He just stood there stiff as a statue when Joey walked on.

He began dancing around him, Kaiba keeping his eyes glued to him as if his life depended on it. Joey then took his hands and made him twirl. This seemed to loosen the brunet some. He began a timid dance, finding rhythm with his companion. Half way through the song, Kaiba was all smiles, dancing just as ludicrously as Joey was. He was even pretending to sing the song. When the song came to an end, they posed until the guy recording told them they could change out of their costumes.

They did so. The man then told them that he would bring them the DVD when it was ready. And so, they left to seek out other fun activities. Joey didn't want to waste another second. He was going to take advantage of the fact that the CEO was finally acting his age.

They found a money booth where the participator was to catch as many dollar bills as he or she could and would then get to keep whatever they grabbed during the 20-second time limit.

The older woman in charge of this station looked at Kaiba and asked him if he wanted to play. He and Joey turned to face each other and laughed as if it were the funniest joke they'd ever heard. Still giggling, Joey said, "Yeah, as if _he_ needed more money as it is!" They laughed harder.

Five minutes later, they were still giggling, though not as much as they had been before. Suddenly, some rapid music began to play not too far away. There was a disco ball shining various colors over the floor and the slowly accumulating dancers. The DJ was moving his head up and down to the music, in his own world entirely.

This time it was Kaiba who dragged Joey to the dance floor. They danced to the rhythm of the fast-paced, extremely loud music. It was a surprise the glass didn't shatter. They danced until they could dance no longer.

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang had gotten out of the pool and changed into some dry clothing. When they came out of the locker room, they heard a scream.

"OH DEAR GODS!"

They turned to see Bakura's red face, his eyes as big as Yugi's. They seemed concerned for their friend. "What's wrong 'Kura?" Ryou asked, worried, but the other couldn't talk. Excitement was too great for him as he could only point down the hall.

There was a setup for people to play Guitar Hero. Marik's eyes now widened as well, along with Duke's, who also wore a mischievous smirk. "I challenge you, Bakura." He said loudly and proudly. Bakura almost immediately accepted the challenge. And so they went off to play, along with Tristan, Marik and Ryou, who either wanted to watch or take their turns.

Yugi, Yami, and Malik continued to wander the halls, looking around at all they could do. But then Yami suddenly disappeared. Yugi finally found him ten minutes later sitting at a poker table, joined by three other people. The dealer looked like she could have done without him there. Yugi saw there was a blackjack table right next to the poker table so he sat there, Malik followed. They played their hearts out.

Not too long after, the DJ decided to take a break and left some songs playing, only they weren't so loud. Everyone dispersed and took a break of their own. Joey sat down in a chair, panting loudly as he attempted to catch his breath. They were both sweating.

"L-Let's...go...get...some..thing...to drink..." Kaiba breathed. Joey could only nod as they walked slowly to the cafeteria, where they found a buffet and an endless supply drinks. As they each grabbed a water and sat down, the guy from the Music Video station came in and handed Kaiba a DVD.

"Here ya go." He said and handed a white disc that had their names on it along with the title of the song they used.

"Th-Thanks." He exhaled. The guy nodded and walked right back out.

Kaiba put the disc away and took a particularly large gulp from his water bottle, spilling some on his shirt as he did so. Joey snorted, spitting his own water out of his mouth. He was laughing so hard he began to slightly choke on the water he still had in his mouth.

About five minutes later, Bakura, Marik, Duke, Tristan, and Ryou walked in. Bakura looked murderous and Duke was still smirking. Tristan was right behind Duke. Ryou was attempting to comfort Bakura. Marik was laughing his ass off. Each took a water bottle and sat with their two air-deprived comrades.

Still laughing, Marik said, "Bakura got his ass kicked."

Kaiba and Joey seemed confused, so he went on. "Bakura got his ass kicked by Duke at Guitar Hero." As this information processed, they looked at each other and shared Marik's mirth. Bakura looked pissed.

"SHUT UP! HE ONLY BEAT ME BECAUSE I ACCIDENTALLY DROPPED THE GUITAR!"

"Three times?"

"THE THING WAS SLIPPERY! I COULDN'T GET MY FINGERS IN THE RIGHT PLACE!"

"That's what _he_ said…"

Yugi, Yami, and Malik chose that time to walk in. They were shocked at the sight of Bakura choking Marik. Malik quickly went over and held Bakura back, screaming, "YOU LAY ONE _FINGER_ ON HIM AND YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH ME YA GOT THAT?"

Yugi and Yami simply kept walking, ignoring the chaos not too far away and sat with everyone else.

"What happened to you two?" Yami asked the blond and brunet.

"We were dancing." Kaiba answered. The mention of dancing seemed to get the attention of the three in the corner because they quickly asked in unison, "Dancing?"

Joey then said, "There's a dance floor down the hall with a DJ. We were dancing for half an hour, give or take a few minutes." Everyone eyed Joey and pondered his choice of words.

"Uhh... okay. So anyone wanna go dance? 'Cause I sure do! Come on Tristan!" Duke commanded as he tried to ease the awkwardness of the situation.

"What time is it?" Yugi suddenly asked.

Ryou was the first to check his watch. "It's nearly 2. We still have quite a lot of time. What do you suppose we do?"

"I have an idea..." There was only a flash visible as Bakura swiftly disappeared with Ryou in check.

"I think I understand his thoughts." Marik said, and dragged Malik along with him after Bakura and Ryou. Then only Yami, Yugi, Kaiba, and Joey remained in the cafeteria.

"Where'd they all go?" Yugi asked.

"They'll be fine, Yugi. Don't worry about them. Come on," Yami said, "let's find something to do." And then there were two—again.

"We have the weirdest friends." Joey said.

"They were your friends first." Kaiba proclaimed. They laughed.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

It was 3:30am and people were starting to get a bit sleepy—either that or the complete opposite. Joey and Kaiba had simply sat around and talked. Kaiba found out that he and Joey were more alike than he had originally perceived. They became even closer friends. Joey was even allowed to call Kaiba by his first name—a feat that was never accomplished by anyone in the history of mankind. They were both currently sitting outside, enjoying the night's cool air and privacy-bound darkness.

They were of course forbidden to go outside the building but they managed to sneak past a particular parent who seemed either on the verge of falling asleep, or incoherently drunk.

They were lying in the grass, staring up at the stars and the moon. It felt nice just to gaze up into the calm night and enjoying it with a friend. Joey loved doing this. In truth, he did this nearly every night at home. When he had asked Kaiba if he wanted to go outside and stare at the stars, he had expected to get shut down in the most humiliating way possible.

That would have, of course, happened if they hadn't befriended each other. Then Kaiba said something as if he were reading Joey's thoughts. He said it softly, almost inaudibly. But Joey heard it. And it was the perfect thing to say.

"Friendship is genuine when two friends can enjoy each other's company without speaking a word to one another." Joey turned to now watch the brunet as he looked upward, the image of the starry night reflecting in his eyes beautifully.

"Yeah..." was all Joey could say. It's not that he was speechless; it was just that he simply couldn't find the right words to say at a moment like this. It was too perfect to ruin it with more words spoken.

Then Kaiba rolled over and looked at Joey straight in the eye. "I'm not exactly sure how to expect you to take this, especially after you've revealed to me that you're not who I've thought you were for the past four years. But I need to get this off my chest and now's as good a time as any other."

After a moment, Joey finally said, "Before you say anything, I want you to know that you can trust me with whatever it is you have to say. You're my friend." Kaiba nodded in response.

"Listen, Joey," Kaiba began as he sat up. Joey also sat up. "I don't know how much of yourself throughout the past years was truly you and how much was a hoax, but I like every aspect of you. Actually, no, I have to admit, it runs deeper than that." Kaiba seemed frustrated with himself. _This isn't going to sound like me but this needs to be said._

Joey tilted his head to the side in a contemplative manner. Kaiba thought for a millisecond that he resembled a puppy. "I-I think I might have f-fallen f-for y-you." Kaiba stammered.

"I don't understand what you're saying, Seto." Joey said, playing dumb for the last time. It was weird hearing the almighty Seto Kaiba stuttering.

"I love you, Joey Wheeler." Kaiba declared boldly. Not allowing Joey to process much, he quickly cupped the blond's face and directed him into a _very _close proximity. Hesitating only slightly, he whispered, "Can I kiss you?"

Joey could only nod, but that was all that was needed as he himself closed the gap between the two of them. The emotions they felt at that moment seemed to merge as the sensation of each other's lips became intoxicating and Joey now wrapped his arms around the brunet's neck. Meanwhile Kaiba was wrapping his own arms around the blond's waist, as if claiming it. They parted for much-needed air but kept each other close.

"The only people who are worth being friends with are the people who like you as you are. And I can say for sure that I like you very much for who you are." Joey whispered and kissed the other yet again.

When they parted, Kaiba whispered even quieter, "And hopefully we can have little more than a friendship." He paused. "I think I now have an idea of what the others were doing earlier when they left."

Joey looked up at him in confusion, but they seemed to communicate through eyesight alone as Joey realized what he implied. A smirk suddenly grew on his face.

It was now 4am. Joey and Kaiba were still outside, but this time they were in each other's embrace. Joey then suddenly spoke.

"I don't get it."

Kaiba sat up a bit. "What don't you get?"

"How did I not realize these feelings I had for you before today?"

Kaiba considered his question for a bit but then said, "The heart has its reasons that reason knows nothing of."

Joey nodded with a smile and gave him a peck on his lips.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

They were disembarking the buses as they arrived at their school at 7am. Upon coming off the bus, they each received gifts from the chaperones. The graduates who were to be picked up, went over to their parents' cars and got inside, undoubtedly falling asleep instantly. Joey waved as he parted ways with his friends. He turned around and faced his unofficial boyfriend.

"Seto?" He asked, "What are you doing here still? I thought you'd gone home."

"I thought I'd bring you home."

"That's alright. I only live about five minutes away from here by foot. I'm alright with walking."

"But I'm not. Let me take you home." Kaiba pleaded.

"No, thank you." Joey said kindly.

"Then let me walk you home." Kaiba offered.

Joey seemed to contemplate it and then said, "Okay."

The blond's prediction was right. It had only taken five minutes to get to Joey's apartment from the school. Kaiba walked him to the door. Before Joey went inside, Kaiba gave him a kiss to remember.

They parted as Joey opened his door and Kaiba walked down the hall. But then he stopped.

"By the way," he began, "you never told me what your IQ was."

Joey turned to him and said, "No, I haven't, but I can say quite certainly that it's higher than yours."

Kaiba turned to him. "Hmm? Really? My IQ is 143. That's considered beyond genius."

"Well then, you should know what I qualify under then."

"We'll see."

"My IQ is 189." Kaiba's jaw dropped comically as the information reached his ears. He was stunned into paralysis.

Joey walked up to him and embraced him romantically. "Don't be surprised, or upset, or embarrassed, Seto, for intelligence is one thing, and knowledge is another. Never forget that it is the spirit with which you present your work that makes it useful or futile. I'm no better than you are."

Kaiba returned the hug and kissed the other's shoulder. They let go and Joey entered his apartment as Kaiba walked down the hallway, content that he had been able to find something better than friendship.

* * *

Well, that's it for this story! I hope you liked it and I hope it meets, or even exceeds expectations. I will really appreciate it if you give me your thoughts on this piece. I actually have been working on it for a while and it feels awesome to finally have it finished. So please review! Thank you and have a wonderful day!


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